So that's what I get for typing in anger. What happened was Boone lifted IKF for Hicks as a pinch hitter.
Ridiculous. As you said, IKF puts the ball in play and has a better OBP.
Plenty of reasons to be angry with this team right now. Luckily they were so good early.
Starting pitching overachieved early.
Bullpen lost a few key guys and Holmes isn't pitching like Mariano anymore.
Offense always had a few dead spots, and without Stanton and Carpenter, that is exacerbated.
Luckily the AL will have a few bad playoff teams but I do not see them beating the Astros. Would love to be wrong.